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Bellagio

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The opening of Bellagio in 1998 marked a new era in Las Vegas. Moving away from kitschy trends, hotels and casinos were shifting toward more opulent and luxurious themes as casino mogul Steve Wynn ushered in a whole new vision for his hotel on the Strip.

It was one of the first hotels to take the guest experience into account, offering more ambitious restaurants and amenities that welcomed you to indulge in a high life that didn’t just include gaming. What we expect as Las Vegas visitors today — the high level of service, the decadence, the elegance — is a direct result of Bellagio’s influence.

Modeled after an Italian villa, Bellagio has continued to reinvent itself over the past two decades, including a $165 million remodel of the resort’s 3,993 guest rooms completed in 2015. The 100,000 square feet of casino floor features 2,400 slot machines, race and sports book and a poker room, but if you want to spend time outside luxuriating, take your pick from one of five pools in a Mediterranean courtyard setting.

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Our Inspector's Highlights

• The recently renovated rooms are a nod to the hotel’s most famous attractions: Some were inspired by the natural feel of the conservatory, done in hues of green tea and plum, while on the more modern tip, indigo and platinum reflect the Fountains of Bellagio.

• Not only was its buffet one of the first to make the all-you-can-eat dining experience an elegant one, but the Bellagio also set the bar for the rise of fine dining and haute cuisine on the Strip.

• Bellagio also keeps not one but two master sommeliers, Robert Smith of Picasso and Jason Smith, who serves as wine director for the property. 16 other sommeliers can help you select the perfect bottle from the 90,000 kept on the property.

• Feeling good and looking good is not a difficult order at Bellagio, especially if you book some time in its 55,000-square-foot, Four-Star spa.

• You could bypass the casino floor entirely if you’re headed straight in to see Bellagio’s conservatory and botanical gardens. Under the glass atrium, 14,000 square feet of spectacular indoor gardens house tens of thousands of different plants and flowers each season

Things to Know

• Bellagio’s salon offers barber services such as hot-towel/straight-razor shaves as well as facials for men, and bridal and makeup application for those ladies who want to look and feel their best.

• All your immediate cares can be massaged away in one of 56 treatment rooms in the hotel’s Four-Star spa, where you can indulge in ashiatsu or Thai massage, hydrotherapy and Vichy showers.

• The eight-acre man-made lake in front, Lake Bellagio, looks placid at times, but at least every half hour or so becomes one of the most dazzling water features on the Strip. The 1,200 fountains are a technological feat, using four types of high-pressure jets, some of which can shoot water as high as almost 500 feet in the air, set to songs such as “Luck Be A Lady,” “Viva Las Vegas” and “My Heart Will Go On.”

The Rooms

• Bellagio boasts nearly 4,000 guest rooms, and starting at 510 square feet, are some of the most spacious on the Strip.

• Plush king beds serve as the centerpiece for the rooms, while amenities such as 40-inch flat screen TVs, custom photography and an Italian marble bath remind you that you’re supposed to be living in style.

• The 1,020-square-foot Bellagio suite features a separate living room and bedroom, his-and-hers baths — one with a steam shower, one with a whirlpool tub, and a guest bathroom in the foyer.

• Larger suites only get more and more luxurious, with the addition of wet bars and other amenities. The Presidential and Chairman’s suites afford you your own solarium, indoor garden and fireplace and 24-hour butler service.

The Restaurants

• This collection of restaurants was the first local home to renowned, gourmet chefs such as James Beard Award winner Julian Serrano of Picasso and Jean-Georges Vongerichten of Prime Steakhouse, as well as legendary restaurateur Sirio Maccioni and his family’s iconic Le Cirque.

• For more contemporary bites, Fix has long been a see-and-be-seen spot for American cuisine, while its sister restaurant across the way, Yellowtail, is known as one of the best modern Japanese eateries on the Strip.

• Chef Serrano’s second Bellagio restaurant, Lago, pays homage to small-plates Mediterranean cuisine. Serrano devoted much of the menu to light bites that you can share, focusing on crudos, or raw seafood dishes that are minimally treated and seasoned.

• Tucked behind Bellagio’s stunning Conservatory, Michael Mina feels like a nice little secret. The restaurant is the perfect storm of design and cuisine, from its chic décor with floor-to-ceiling blond wood shelves to its innovative menu and equally sleek wine collection.

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